


Computer Crisis

by aislingdoheanta



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Trope Bingo Round 3, au where they were never revolutionaries, instead they work together in an office run by valjean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 17:50:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1574321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aislingdoheanta/pseuds/aislingdoheanta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras runs into computer trouble at work and has to call the IT department. Naturally he gets stuck with Grantaire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Computer Crisis

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for my trope bingo for the square: AU Mundane. This is a story set in a universe where the characters are not what they are known for. It was a little more difficult for Les Mis since they are really only revolutionaries, so I just took that key aspect out. 
> 
> This is a modern AU where the Amis work together and some of them are sort of friends for an Advertising company run by Valjean.

Enjolras felt on edge all day. He had a hundred things he had to get done this week, and at least eighty of them were top priority with his boss. So of course today would be the day his computer would have an issue.

The screen flashed, then went black. Enjolras groaned and hoped that it was just a minor issue, like the compute was just restarting or taking a break, and it wasn’t actually freezing or dying or anything more serious.  

It definitely wasn’t broken. It just _couldn’t_ be broken. He was the Human Resource Coordinator. He _needed_ to use his computer.

Enjolras cursed under his breath when the screen went to a bright blue with a neon colored type that usually meant something a little more serious was wrong. It meant that he had to call the IT department. And if he called the IT department, it meant that he would be paying for it for the next few weeks.

It wasn’t that the people in the IT department at his office were bad—he had helped hire them.

It was that he always, _always_ , got stuck with Grantaire. Grantaire who always laughed at his expense, told everyone about it, and made sure to “check in” with him and his computer status throughout the following weeks.

He was a professional at heart and knew when to phone in for help. Now was definitely one of those times. So he manned up and did what he had to do.

It didn’t stop him from praying that someone, _anyone_ else in the department would answer as the phone rang.  

“IT?” Grantaire’s rough voice answered.

Enjolras cleared his throat. “It’s Enjolras. I need help with my computer.”

“What an interesting conundrum,” Grantaire said and Enjolras _knew_ that he was smiling in that smug way of his. “What can the lowly Dionysus do for the lofty Apollo?”

Enjolras sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Grantaire…Please be serious.”

Grantaire laughed.

“Look, my screen has gone bright blue with white or green writing on it. The words might make sense to you, but not to me.” Enjolras waited for a few seconds before adding, “Will you please come and help me?”

“I’ll be right there,” Grantaire told him, that same smug tone in his voice.

“Thank you,” Enjolras said shortly and hung up before Grantaire could respond.

Enjolras leaned back in his chair and let his head fall back. It had been a long day already—there was a problematic situation arising between two of his coworkers entering a romantic relationship. He was only involved because one party is superior to the other. It wasn’t that he thought anything too upsetting or incriminating would happen between them. She just so happened to be the daughter of the President of the Company and he was breathing down Enjolras’s neck to check that all the paperwork was properly filed.

Enjolras believed he was concerned that Marius might be using Cosette’s position to elevate his own position. He only needed to talk with Marius to see that that boy would never be able to pull something like that off. Not to mention he had been trying to work up the courage to ask Cosette out on a date for what felt like years—Enjolras had become somewhat of a confidant to woes of the man through Courfeyrac who is one of the few people Enjolras considered his friend here.

“Knock, knock.”

Enjolras opened his eyes. “You could have just actually knocked, you know.”

“Where’s the fun in that, Apollo?” Grantaire said as he sauntered, literally _sauntered_ —which was the only description Enjolras could think of that accurately described what Grantaire was doing—into Enjolras’s office. And he wasted no time in crowding him as he started examining the computer screen.

Enjolras pushed away from the desk and stood up, walking—he did _not_ stomp no matter what Grantaire’s smirk suggested—to the other side of the desk. He sat down in the other chair, closed his eyes and tried to roll the kinks out of his neck.

“You wound me, Apollo,” Grantaire said as sat in the recently vacated chair. “It’s almost as though you don’t want my company.”

Enjolras groaned and rested his head on the back of the chair as Grantaire typed something out on his keyboard. He heard the wheels roll and cracked open an eye. Grantaire’s face was right in front of his.

“You look very peaceful when you sleep, did anyone tell you that?” Grantaire asked quietly as he leaned against the back of Enjolras’s chair, effectively bracketing him in.

 “I’ve heard it once or twice,” Enjolras said quietly, trying desperately not to make eye contact with the consultant.  

 “Enjolras, have you had—“ Combeferre broke off as he took in the sight of Grantaire leaning on the back of the chair, head bent close to Enjolras’s. “Oh…I’m sorry.”

“Combeferre!” Enjolras exclaimed pushing Grantaire away.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Combeferre said slowly.

Enjolras shook his head but could feel his face flush. “Grantaire was just fixing my computer.”

Combeferre frowned behind his glasses but remained silent.

“The glorious Apollo would never stoop to exchange pleasantries with the likes of me,” Grantaire said with a smirk. “There is work yet to be done.”

“Grantaire,” Enjolras said equal parts annoyed that Grantaire just didn’t let him handle the situation and resigned that Grantaire always talked about himself in that way. Though Enjolras was certainly not a good person to bring up such a topic with. He had been told—more than once, although mostly by Courferyac—that he had a knack for being as insensitive as he could while coming across as judgmental, almost like he was blaming the person he was trying to comfort. Enjolras tended to just remain quiet after that.

Enjolras shook his head again, his cheeks still aflame. “I’m sorry, ‘Ferre. What did you need?”

Combeferre glanced between the two of them before settling his gaze on Enjolras again. “I had wanted to check if you got the details about my sales meeting tomorrow since I hadn’t heard back from you.” He turned his gaze to the computer Grantaire was steadily typing at. “Though apparently you had good reason.”

Enjolras rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah. You know how technology and I rarely speak the same language.”

“That’s because you insult it and expect it to do everything,” Grantaire said without looking up.

Enjolras glared at him while Combeferre coughed out a laugh.

“Not to mention the unnecessary force you use when attempting to type,” Grantaire continued. “I mean—“

“Yes, thank you. That’s enough,” Enjolras said with a bite.

Grantaire just shrugged and continued working.

“Sorry, Combeferre. Should we?” he asked as he gestured to the door.

“Sure.” Combeferre followed him out.

Enjolras gently shut the door behind him. “I can only apologize again,” Enjolras began rubbing the back of his neck. “I know that looked entirely unprofessional and—“

“Enjolras, it’s okay.” Combeferre grasped his shoulder. “That’s just R’s demeanor. We all know that.”

Enjolras sighed and relaxed. “Right. Well, what did you need to see me about?”

Combeferre pushed his glasses up. “There’s just been some…concerns over Courfeyrac handling all of the sales pitches regarding our new campaign. And I wanted to get your feedback on it before our scheduled meeting tomorrow.”

“You’re going with him?” Enjolras asked as he leaned against the wall.

“Yeah. It’s a big potential client and I’d hate any issues to arise,” Comeferre said.

“What are these issues? Something I should be concerned about?” the HR persona in Enjolras came to the forefront. He couldn’t risk his employees—or those he considered his employees—disturbing any potential customer. They would be thrown into the middle of a law suit or black ball situation faster than anyone could blink. Or worse, mountains of paperwork that would mean Enjolras wouldn’t see the sun for the next seven months.

Combeferre waved a hand. “You know how Courferyac just assumes he’s best friends with anyone he meets. And how he’s very…open,” Combeferre said carefully, “with his life and conversation topics. He doesn’t always realize that he’s coming off as interrogative.”

Enjolras nodded. “You’ve talked with him, I take it?” The _Otherwise I would have been informed sooner_ went unsaid.

“Of course.” Combeferre said. “I just wanted to inform you and let you know that I was going with him tomorrow. I think it might be easier to see it as it’s happening and hopefully stop them before them before it reaches any worse point.”

“Okay.” Enjolras sighed. He felt a migraine forming in the back of his head and rubbed at his neck again.

The door pushed open and Grantaire walked out, though his eyes pinched together when he saw Enjolras rubbing his neck. It always felt like Grantaire could somehow always see through him, past his defenses. Even when they were talking on the phone. He just always found a way to get under Enjolras’s skin.

“All done?” Enjolras asked him as he dropped his hand.

“Yup. Good as new, chief.” Grantaire smiled. “I shall leave you two to whatever discussion you were having.”

“Thank you,” Enjolras said quietly.

Grantaire tilted his hand and smiled with a puzzled expression on his face. “Anything for my Apollo,” he said with a mock bow.

Enjolras rolled his eyes and quite possibly imagined the brush of Grantaire’s fingers across his hand. But he was not going to concern himself with that.

He quickly finished his conversation with Combeferre, went through the e-mails he had missed while his computer had been down, and went through the paperwork— _again—_ for Marius and Cosette. By the end of his day, Enjolras was exhausted, had a headache-bordering-on-a-migraine, and never wanted to look at Marius Pontmercy’s name again.

He barely remembered his commute back to his apartment but he got there in relatively one piece. Left his coat and shoes at the door, for once not caring if they were put away properly. He slumped onto the sofa, flicked on the television.

Enjolras closed his eyes and massaged at his temples hoping for some relief from the migraine as the news ramble on. It had been such a long day, with everything he had had to deal with and his computer breaking on top of it.

“You know leaving the door unlocked is dangerous right? I mean, anybody could walk in.”

Enjolras smiled despite himself. “That would explain what you are doing here.”

“Hey!” Grantaire’s voice said suddenly very close. “I have a key to this place, remember?”

Enjolras cracked an eye open. “Of course I do. I gave it to you, remember?”

Grantaire laughed and pressed his hand to Enjolras’s neck. “Rough day?” he asked as he massaged it gently.

Enjolras sighed. “Just a lot of paperwork to deal with. And it didn’t help that my computer chose today to break down.”

Grantaire laughed. “And seeing me probably didn’t help matters.”

“It does help,” Enjolras tried uselessly.

“Enjolras,” Grantaire said gently. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you were completely comfortable with me there. Especially when Combeferre showed up.”

“I…It…”Enjolras trailed off with a sigh.

“I mean, your face was shocked and horrified.”

“Because we looked completely inappropriate,” Enjolras argued.

“We’d only look inappropriate if I was sitting on your lap with your shirt half off and you hand in my pants,” Grantaire countered. “Besides, we are together. It’s not like it would be completely unexpected.”

“I…You know that I prefer to keep work and my personal life separate,” Enjolras said.

Grantaire smiled, though Enjolras could see the slight sadness to it. “I know. Just like I knew and understood that when we started this. You don’t need to worry about it so much.”

Enjolras was going to argue again, but Grantaire silenced his complaints with a quick kiss. “You’ll tell them when you are ready. It’s okay.” He pulled Enjolras to him and then resumed his gentle massage. “You need to let it go.”

“If you would stop making everything difficult whenever we are in the same room together, it might be easier,” Enjolras said.

“I think you just have a hard time concentrating when I’m in the room.” Grantaire teased. “I think you are just so distracted by my rocking body that you cannot tear you mind away from the mental images.”

Enjolras elbowed him. “Be serious.”

“I am wild,” Grantaire laughed.

Enjolras shook his head fondly. “Tell me about your day?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to just go to sleep? You clearly have a migraine,” Grantaire said gently.

“I’d rather listen to how your day was.”

“Well,” Grantaire started, keeping his voice quiet. “I had to fix this one computer and the guy was completely awkward about it.”

“Hey!” Enjolras protested.

Grantaire laughed. “Believe it or not, it wasn’t you. I was talking about Pontmercy. His computer crashed. He got another virus.” Grantaire snorted. “He nearly had an aneurism when Courfeyrac said that it was due to all the porn he was downloading at work.”

Enjolras groaned. “That is at the top of my list of things I never want to think about.”

“What about Courf and what he claims he did—“

“Nope. I have permanently blocked that from my memory.”

Grantaire chuckled. “Well Boussett nearly managed to electrocute himself again. He almost spilled his coffee over the circuit board we’ve been working on repairing.” Enjolras barely felt him shake his head. “It eases my mind to know that he’s got Joly to look out for him outside of work.”

Grantaire’s voice slowly quieted as he talked about the discussion Bahorel and he got into today about the differences between hand-to-hand combat and street fighting. The words began swirling in his mind and came out as soothing snippets of sound instead of actual words. He just snuggled closer and allowed himself to fall asleep, with Grantaire’s gently voice lulling him to sleep.


End file.
